Hair Evidence Confirms Leaded Gas Ban Cut Public Lead Exposure

TL;DR Summary
A University of Utah study analyzed 100-year hair samples from Salt Lake City residents and found lead levels were high before EPA rules on leaded gasoline, then declined sharply after the regulations: about 50 ppm in the 1970s dropping to ~10 ppm in the 1990s, with post-2020 averages around 13 ppm. The findings support the public-health benefits of banning leaded fuel, though leaded aviation fuel and other sources still exist globally (e.g., Algeria only fully banned by 2021, and roughly a quarter-million airplanes still use leaded gas).
- Banning Leaded Gas Was A Good Thing, Says Century-Old Wad Of Hair The Autopian
- Banning lead in gas worked. The proof is in our hair U. of Utah
- Old Hair Reveals How Toxic America Once Was SciTechDaily
- Is Lead Exposure Really Declining? A Century of Hair Holds the Answer Gizmodo
- A century of hair samples proves leaded gas ban worked Ars Technica
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